Our Core Team
With over 200 key partners across our ecosystem and the world, our core team and contracted consultants work to get you the results you need while upholding the highest ethical, business, and personal standards. We are prepared to change the world by changing the way you think and do business.
Spark Growth is led by a five-person Core Team of executive field experts and rigorous researchers. This collaborative leadership model sets us apart and reflects our core principles. For us, five experienced minds working together to make strategic decisions are stronger than one.
Sara Hand
Chief Executive Officer
Sara Hand, Founder, and CEO of Spark Growth, works across public and private sectors to find and leverage unique value propositions. Hand has been recognized by entities such as CEED (Center for Executive and Entrepreneur Development), Harvard TECH, TiE Tampa, and others for fostering collaboration and driving action-focused agendas for business and community development. With a Master’s in Counseling, Hand has an intensive professional and academic background in problem-solving for people, businesses, and communities.
Stan Schultes
Chief Information Officer
Stan Schultes, CIO, is an engineer and professional technologist working to build smarter, more inclusive communities where we live, work, play, and learn. Microsoft Corporation has recognized Schultes for his global business and technology expertise in advanced manufacturing solutions, development, technology transfer, and commercialization, naming him Regional Director (2018 – Present) and MVP (2004 – 2018). With a BSE in engineering from Purdue and over 40 years of experience, Schultes understands the power of culturally responsive technology and the downfalls of the digital divide.
Cassandra Decker
Chief Data and Research Officer
Cassandra Decker, CDRO, is a data designer driving efficiency in programs, projects, procedures, and products. Decker earned a Master’s Degree in applied anthropology from the University of South Florida and a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish, English, and Political Science from The University of Iowa. Decker also has over 15 years of experience in qualitative and quantitative research, conducting results-based work in both English and Spanish. She is the owner and principal consultant of CRD Impact, which uses community research, equitable design, and inclusive marketing practices to identify, analyze, and interpret data.
Norman Dempsey
Chief Technology Officer and “Tech MacGyver”
Norman Dempsey, MBA, is a technology innovator and solutions engineer widely recognized for his business, computer network, & cyber-security consulting. A former television Network Administrator, Dempsey’s grasp of responsive media development is second to none and complements the human-interfacing and management skills he developed managing and owning restaurants and supporting computer operations for DoD clients. A graduate of Eckerd (BA) and USF (MBA), he is passionate about education and loves finding opportunities for existing businesses to expand services and enhance cash flow.
Laura Elizabeth
Education & research consultant
As an Education Consultant and Curriculum Development Specialist, Laura Hand, MA, has worked with a wide range of education entities across private and public, domestic and international, and for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. Most recently, Hand has worked on textbook development and program management for a large-scale WIOA/ALE-funded ESOL program. Hand holds a Master’s Degree in English and Comparative Literature and a multidisciplinary Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics, English and Comparative Literature, and Comparative Literature and Society (MLS).
Learn More about Some of our Trusted Clients and Partners
Spark Growth’s processes, workshops, and training programs emphasize connections, resources, and holistic solutions – and the methods that link them together. Over 13,000 Spark Growth workshop attendees have gone on to make major changes and enact core-technology transformations with a measurable impact. Clients such as Siteworks have more than doubled revenue with the assistance of Spark Growth consultants.
Spark Growth’s processes, workshops, and training programs emphasize connections, resources, and holistic solutions – and the methods that link them together. Over 13,000 Spark Growth workshop attendees have gone on to make major changes and enact core-technology transformations with a measurable impact. Clients such as Siteworks have more than doubled revenue with the assistance of Spark Growth consultants.
- We change the way people think. This is what we are good at. This is what we are known for.
Spark Growth in What Matters
Core Team Developments, Business Model Innovations, and Brand & Thought Leadership.
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